Rattled

Have you ever heard the saying that God will not give you more than you can handle? I have heard it most of my life. But here lately after listening to a couple podcasts, the most recent is Girls Night with Stephanie May Wilson, they made me question it and realize that is not necessarily true. They talk about how it doesn’t specifically say that anywhere in the Bible and there are many times and seasons that we are in that it is more than we can handle but we have Him to get us through. This gave me a whole new perspective. I have had a lot on the plate and juggling it all has been hard, but lately with my first flight in twelve years upon me my anxiety and fears have been at an all time high. For some of you its worse things and you are facing fears of cancer, death of a family member, loss of a job, something that is way beyond what you can handle. In my situation I can feel my fears becoming more present than my faith and maybe for some of you that is what is happening as well.

Isn’t it so hard when we are facing situations like this to really press into the gospel? When these things happen we start to question God and His goodness because our expectations are not what we thought they were. In these moments is when the enemy makes his moves and creeps in when you least expect it. Then before you realize it the voices in your head and the voice of the enemy become so loud they rattle your mind. For me it has woken me up from a dead sleep, my heart racing and tears running down my face. All of these things have made me realize that I need to be reading and seeking His wisdom more frequently because I need that at the forefront. I know that His word is the only thing that will provide me peace. Next to public speaking, airplanes are my greatest fear. I have conquered my public speaking fear more than once, so why is this so hard?. It’s hard for me because I think of my family, my kids and the feeling of not having any control. I know I don’t have total control in my car either but at least I am on land and not 30,000 feet in the air. For me to face and conquer this fear is a huge deal for me because I do not want to let my fears control my life and this fear has controlled me so much. I have been imprisoned to this fear for twelve years! I have forced my husband to only take trips that we can drive to because I refuse to fly. I want to see this world and the beauty of what God has created, I want to see and have adventures with my husband and my kids, but if I continue to live wrapped up in my fear then I will be a prisoner to my fears for the rest of my life.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. And this expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Romans 5:3-5

Life Application Study Bible. Tyndale House Publishers;1996.

See how sweet and loving our God is?! He always has the right words at the right time when we seek Him. This verse was such a loving reminder of how truly great our God is. Our faith is going to be consistently tested, and even when we are handed more than we can handle, God can handle what we cannot. He can help get us through, He is our light in the darkness. He said very clearly that in this world we will have trials but through those trials our faith grows. Accepting that that saying is not true brings me so much peace and comfort and I pray that you find something that has been hindering you and you lean into our Father and let His wisdom give you the strength to overcome it. It will surely be uncomfortable and scary but He is with you every step of the way. As I write this I am being honest that I am still terrified to get on that airplane but I am not going to let the lies of the enemy be louder than the wisdom of my creator.

My child, listen to me and treasure my instructions. Tune your ears to wisdom and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight and understanding. Search for them as you would for lost money or hidden treasure. Proverbs 2:1-4

XOXO